Narrations: WTM Style vs. CM Style

I am reposting from the SSA archives today because it is an important piece to understanding tomorrow's ramblings. ; )It was from a post where I was answering SSA readers' questions I had received via email and/or the comment section.

Question: Could you share how a WTM-style narration and a CM-style narration have looked different to you? We do WTM-style right now and it seems so...artificial, or forced, or something.

Answer: I talked a little about this in my last post comparing CM to Classical, so here I thought I'd share a few quotes from the authors themselves. First Susan Wise-Bauer's ideas on narrations...

Narration is a way to develop the child's understanding and storytelling skills. The process is simple: the child tells you what he's just heard or read. ...In first grade, you begin to ask the child to summarize the plots of short simple stories...Narration lets you know how much a child retains and understands. It also develops vocabulary and powers of expression, and lays the foundation for good writing later on.

~The Well Trained Mind, Revised and Updated, p. 55 (emphasis mine)

Narration removes the need for "comprehension exercises." Instead of learning to complete fill-in-the-blank questions, the child uses all his mental faculties to understand, sort through, reorganize and relate the main points of a story.

~Ibid, p. 59 (emphasis mine)

This process (of narration) developed the student's comprehension skills and taught him how to tell the difference between irrelevant details and important elements of plots or argument.

~Ibid, p. 272 (emphasis mine)

And now Charlotte Mason's ideas on narration...

Narrating, like writing poetry or painting, is an art that's inherent in the mind of every child. It's just waiting to be uncovered. The child doesn't need to go through an educational process to develop it because it's already there. The child only needs a reason to narrate and he does--easily, generously, with events in the right order, using appropriate illustrative details, with the right choice of words, without flowery wordiness or redundant phrases, as soon as he's able to speak easily. This amazing ability lies within every child, yet it is rarely tapped into to serve his education. Robert will come home with an exciting story of a fight between Duke and a stray dog down the street. It's wonderful! He saw it all and tells everything with great eagerness in a style that might rival any epic movie. But our scorn for children is so ingrained that we don't appreciate it. All we see is how childish Robert is being. But if we could only see it and use it, his recounting could be the very foundation of his education.

~Home Education, Volume 1, p. 231

Readings should always be in consecutive order and from a carefully selected book. Before the day's reading, the teacher should talk a little and discuss with the children what happened in the previous lesson. Then she can say a few words about the current lesson, just enough that the children are eager in anticipation. But she should be careful not to explain too much and, especially, she shouldn't take too long to get into the reading itself. Then she can read two or three pages, enough to cover a complete episode. After that, she can call on the children to narrate. If there are several children, they can take turns. The children narrate with enthusiasm and accuracy while still retaining a sense of the author's style. It isn't a good idea to nag them about their mistakes. They may begin with a lot of "ums" or "ands" but they soon stop doing that on their own, and their narrations become good enough in style and composition to publish in a book! This kind of narration lesson shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. The book should always be very interesting. When the narration is over, there should be a little bit of discussion where the moral points are brought out, pictures can be shown to illustrate the lesson, or diagrams drawn on the blackboard.

~Ibid, p. 232-233

Essentially, the main difference between a WTM (Classical) narration and a CM narration is that the former wants more of a summary and the latter wants a child to tell all he is able to recall. To me the CM style is much more natural for a young child as many struggle mightily to differentiate between a main idea and a superfluous detail. The poster of the original question states that she feels WTM style narrations seem, "artifical or forced." I would maintain this is because WTM narrations may be trying to accomplish too much, especially for the younger student. If the goal is to determine, "how much a child retains and understands" (SWB quote above) then why summarize? If we really want to know how much they retain then let the children tell all they know! I am not saying summarization is not a valuable skill...oh, but it is. I just don't feel this is necessarily the best place to teach it.

My (Again) Updated Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

I have been making our family's bread for almost two years now. Hard to believe. It all started because I wanted a whole grain loaf that used no HFCS and I was tired of paying $4 for it. I started in May 2009 using a bread machine and tweaked until I had a really great loaf of bread. But then about six months ago my trusty bread maker died. I had read time and again that the best loaves are made by hand but until that point had resisted trying it out. The bread maker was just so easy. ;) After my machine quit I began researching new options; once I saw that the ones I wanted were in the $200 + range I quickly decided that it would be me and the trusty Kitchen Aid stand mixer for a test run!

Wow! Same recipe, same ingredients but so much better!!! I could not believe it. Dh could not believe it. Truly amazing. And the best part is that using the Kitchen Aid with the dough hook to do most of the mixing/kneading means that it hardly takes me any more time to make this loaf than it did in my bread maker. If you don't have a stand mixer you will just need to knead by hand for about 15 minutes or so. Whole wheat loaves take longer than white loaves. Another bonus of kneading by hand is that it's a great arm workout and incredibly therapeutic as you pound away all your frustrations on the dough rather than on those around you! ;)

I have also changed away from my original recipe which used milk. I have one little guy who cannot tolerate dairy well so we replaced the milk with water about a year ago. In addition, this is a large loaf so you will need a 10 inch bread pan. I am currently looking to replace all my aluminum cookware with stainless or stone bakeware and haven't been able to find a 10 inch bread pan in either. If any of you readers know know of a place, please pass it along. I can find the 9 inch in abundance but not the 10.

100% Whole Grain Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil (or any mild tasting vegetable oil)
• 4 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp molasses
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oat flour (made by grinding rolled oats in my blender or food processor)
• 1/4 cup gluten
• 2 tsp yeast (active dry)

Directions:

1. Measure all wet ingredients (first 5 listed) in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, reserving a tablespoon or so to bloom yeast in small bowl.
2. Add yeast to reserved warm liquid. I never check the water temp anymore as I know what is just about right by touch but most websites will say between 110 and 115. Hotter than that will kill your yeast.
3. I premix all my dry ingredients (excluding yeast) every month or so like at the bottom of this post. If you use my method, dump all dry ingredients in the mixer on top of wet and turn mixer on low. If not, measure all dry ingredients and add to mixer, then turn it on low for 2 or 3 minutes.
4. After the yeast has started to bloom add it to the mixer.
5. Keep machine running on low speed for about 8-10 minutes.
6. Empty contents of mixer onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand another 4-6 minutes. Add flour as needed so dough doesn't stick to your hands or the counter.
7. Form dough into an oval about the same length as your 10 inch bread pan.
8. Place loaf into a well greased pan.
9. Cover with a kitchen towel and set in a warm place away from drafts. For me this is in on my dryer if it's running or on top of my stove, if not.
10. Let rise until loaf is about an inch to an inch and a half above the pan. This usually takes a few hours in my house in winter. Shorter in summer.
11. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes covering the last 10 minutes lightly with a piece of foil to keep from over browning. Most websites will say cook until bread reaches an internal temperature of 200 - 205 degrees but I have found that at 190 I can pull my loaf out and let it continue to sit in the pan for 5 minutes before turning it out to cool and it's perfect. Every pan is different. Every oven is different. You will just need to play around and find what works for you.
12. You just must eat a hot piece with some butter and a bit of honey. Please do! :)

Multitudes on Mondays ~ Jan. 31st

And the gratitude journey continues:

21. The blessing of best friends - despite the distance that two very large states has put between them. These boys' hearts are knit together in a way that words cannot describe and is precious to behold!

22. The reminder in Sunday's sermon that even the heroes of faith described in Hebrews 11 had feet made of clay. That the writers of the Bible were very intentional about describing not only their successes but their failures - and the reminder that they are not the true heroes of Scripture. The only one who could claim that he was always faithful, "to do the things that were pleasing to Him." (John 8:29) is the true hero to look to in all things, at all times.

23. Christmas 2011 came early for me in the form of a new set of excellent quality stainless steel pots and pans that I did not pay a dime for after I returned my original set.

24. For companies that have lifetime guaranties and honor them.

25. For friends 15 years ago that bought me the first set of pots and pans as wedding gifts that lasted for a decade and a half.

26. For little boys who go and go and go...until their go is all gone. ;)

27. For boys who come downstairs in the morning like this...

(math manipulatives for guns and all!)

28. For memorizing the book of Philippians in 2011 with a faithful friend.

29. For my very own copy of Ann's book waiting to be read and discussed with friends. And the anticipation of God doing great things in all our hearts.

30. For the pot of hot coffee that awaits to wake and warm me at 5:00 am each morning along with my copy of the Word that waits to warm my soul.

Five Dollar Friday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Last Friday I shared how I make Chicken Noodle Soup and a homemade stock in the process. This week's recipe is just a yummy step or two off that initial recipe. Everyone loves their tortilla soup a different way. Mine is a simple soup that allows the flavor of the yummy homemade stock to shine. You can add a can of black beans and some organic frozen corn if you want a soup with more to fill it out. A dollop of sour cream on top just before serving is yummy, too. I am also re-posting the steps involved in making a stock just so readers don't have to go between two posts.

Ingredients:

4 lb chicken

3 lg garlic cloves, smashed with flat side of knife (no need to peel)

4 celery stalks, cut into chunks

4-5 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks

10-12 peppercorns

1 lg onion (I prefer sweet), peeled and quartered

Bunch of fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 T salt (start with 1 T and check flavoring to be sure it's not too salty for your taste, you can add more when you add bones to stock).

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (I use a store brand of Rotel but the mild version)

8 oz. shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

1 bag tortilla chips

2 limes cut into wedges

2 avocados

Directions:

1. Remove any extra pieces from cavity and rinse chicken well with cool water.

2. Place in large stock pot with all vegetables and seasonings.

3. Add cool water to cover chicken by an inch.

4. Turn pot to medium until you see a bubbles rising to the top. Then turn pot to med-low/low (see notes below).

5. Skim any impurities that rise to the surface during cooking.

6. Cook for 90 minutes to 2 hrs until chicken is cooked through and extremely tender. If you try to pull the chicken by the legs they will just fall off!

7. Remove chicken and allow to cool. Remove meat from bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle a little olive oil over chicken along with a little stock from the pot to keep moist.

8. Add bones back into broth and simmer for another 30-60 minutes. Add more salt at this point if needed.

9. Strain broth to remove all veggies, spices and bones. Rinse out stock pot.

10. Place broth back into pot. If time allows place in fridge for a few hours or overnight and fat will rise to the top and solidify making it very easy to remove. If not, just let broth sit for a time and you will be able to skim most the fat that rises to the top.

11. Add canned tomatoes w/ green chilies reserving most of the juice. Add juice if desired.

12. Add chicken and warm pot if necessary before serving.

To serve soup, crush tortilla chips in bottom of bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Add soup and squeeze lime juice over all. Add chopped avocados on top of bowl and serve.

Cost Breakdown: $8.58 (enough for a dinner plus lunch the next day for the boys and me - and leftover stock to freeze)

$ 2.00 - chicken (on sale for $.48 a lb)

$ . 12 - garlic cloves

$ . 50 - celery stalks (I got organic for this price)

$ . 50 - carrots (again, organic)

$ . 01 - peppercorns

$ . 50 - lg onion

$ .50 - fresh parsley - about half a bunch (less $ if you use dried)

$ . 04 - dried thyme

$ . 03 - bay leaves

$ . 08 - sea salt

$ .50 - store-brand Rotel tomatoes

$1.50 - Monterrey Jack cheese

$1.00 - tortilla chips

$ . 30 - limes

$1.00 - avocados

Five Dollar Friday: Chicken Noodle Soup (and How to Make Your Own Chicken Stock)

This is the first soup I ever make for our family, and it's still a favorite. Pair it with a green or fruit salad and it's a complete meal. The amount of soup below will feed my family two times, especially when I serve it with sides.

When I see whole chickens on sale for a great price ($.50 - $.60 a lb) I'll buy five or more (depending on freezer space) to make this recipe, tortilla soup, chicken and dumplings, roast chicken with roasted veggies or just tons of stock and chicken to freeze for later meals. :) If you have never made your own stock from scratch you will never want to go back to the store-bought stuff. Homemade is so much more flavorful and it freezes wonderfully. Consider freezing it in three sizes: quart, pint and cup. That way you can defrost just the amount you need with little to no waste. :)

Ingredients:

4 lb chicken

Whole wheat egg noodles

3 lg garlic cloves, smashed with flat side of knife (no need to peel)

4 celery stalks, cut into chunks

4-5 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks

10-12 peppercorns

1 lg onion (I prefer sweet), peeled and quartered

Bunch of fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 T salt (start with 1 T and check flavoring to be sure it's not too salty for your taste, you can add more when you add bones to stock).

Directions:

1. Remove any extra pieces from cavity and rinse chicken well with cool water.

2. Place in large stock pot with all vegetables and seasonings.

3. Add cool water to cover chicken by an inch.

4. Turn pot to medium until you see a bubbles rising to the top. Then turn pot to med-low/low (see notes below).

5. Skim any impurities that rise to the surface during cooking.

6. Cook for 90 minutes to 2 hrs until chicken is cooked through and extremely tender. If you try to pull the chicken by the legs they will just fall off!

7. Remove chicken and allow to cool. Remove meat from bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle a little olive oil over chicken along with a little stock from the pot to keep moist.

8. Add bones back into broth and simmer for another 30-60 minutes. Add more salt at this point if needed.

9. Strain broth to remove all veggies, spices and bones. Rinse out stock pot.

10. Place broth back into pot. If time allows place in fridge for a few hours or overnight and fat will rise to the top and solidify making it very easy to remove. If not, just let broth sit for a time and you will be able to skim most the fat that rises to the top.

11. Bring to a boil and add egg noodles. I usually use about 2/3 of the package but you can use more or less depending on how you like your soup.

12. Once noodles are tender, turn off heat and add desired amount of chicken.

Thoughts on this recipe:

The trick to making really tender, juicy chicken is to never let your pot get to a boil. This will toughen your chicken. At step four you just want to start seeing gentle bubbles rising to top, one every second or so and then turn your heat down. When your heat is turned down you should be seeing a bubble rise to the top every few seconds. Also if you don't cook your chicken long enough it will not be tender enough either. Most of the time I cook mine closer to two hours but your cooking time will depend on the exact size of your chicken and the heat you use to cook/how hot your stove gets.

You can vary the spices/seasonings you use to make your stock. Add/delete/change any of the spices to fit your family's tastes. Also, I typically don't need all the stock this process provides for my soup. I can typically freeze at least a quart of stock. It will just depend on the broth to filling ratio you prefer in your soups. Finally, my boys don't like veggies in their final soup, but if I was making a pot just for me I'd add some carrot slices and finely chopped celery in to cook when I added the egg noodles.

If you are only interested in making stock and not the soup simply use the chicken for another meal or freeze it. The stock can be refrigerated for a week or frozen up to three months.

Cost Breakdown: $5.07

$ 2.00 - chicken (on sale for $.48 a lb)

$ .79 - ww egg noodles (on sale, regular price is $1.89)

$ . 12 - garlic cloves

$ . 50 - celery stalks (I got organic for this price)

$ . 50 - carrots (again, organic)

$ . 01 - peppercorns

$ . 50 - lg onion

$ .50 - fresh parsley - about half a bunch (less $ if you use dried)

$ . 04 - dried thyme

$ . 03 - bay leaves

$ . 08 - sea salt

1000 Gifts: A New Year

I recently discovered Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience, and have been immensely blessed. I read a post describing her journey of gratitude that's ultimate expression has been her book soon to be released (on my reading list for 2010). I am a little late in joining the community of gratitude but am expectantly looking forward to all God will do through my journaling of 1000 gifts He has graciously bestowed.

And so it begins:

1. A new year full of hope and promise.

2. Three boys whom I absolutely adore.

3. A husband who loves me despite my many, many faults.

4. Being part of an amazing body of believers who bless me and spur me on.

5. Friends who know me, the good and bad, and still bless me with their friendship.

6. A warm and safe home.

7. An abundance of healthy food to eat.

8. Clothes to wear.

9. Clean water to drink.

10. The sweetest dog who ever loved three boys.

11. An invitation to lunch on our first day of the new semester.

12. Two new puppies that have brought our neighborhood out to fellowship.

13. A playdate with amazing friends.

14. The chance to redo things not done correctly the first time. Big things.

15. A hand me down treadmill I never could have purchased.

16. A hand me down Wii Fit I am enjoying to help get back in some kind of shape.

17. A fantastic start to our new semester.

18. Art online so this art-phobic mommy doesn't have to teach it.

19. A warm bowl of spaghetti and meatballs after playing outside in the cold.

20. Boys saying, "I'm sorry," and really meaning it.

* Photos were taken today on our first day back of the new semester. Thatch is showing off his art from his Mark Kistler art lesson. Haddon is working on phonics and Beckett is playing with wedgits.

Happy New Year

I love new beginnings! It is so nice to wrap up a year and begin anew. This year is no different. I am excited to start 2011 and discover all the next twelve months hold. A few special things about 2010:

• Dh published his first book. It has been so fun to see him fulfill a dream and to see the book welcomed with enthusiasm by many whom we deeply respect.
• Dh began work on his doctorate.
• We started a new small group that has been a blessing to us.
• Haddon started Kindergarten.
• We had our first broken bone (Beckett).
• We enjoyed a year of exceptional health with only a few colds here and there and are so very grateful.

And a few upcoming milestones in 2011:

• This year my oldest will turn 10. Double digits. Oh my! It is hard to believe that tiny baby is now such a big, handsome, kind-hearted boy.
• This year my youngest will begin Kindergarten, and we will have no more preschoolers in our home. Everyone can now feed, bathe, dress and toilet themselves. ;) I sleep through the night the majority of the time and we are enjoying the flexibility of not being tied to nap schedules. Still one more baby sure would be nice. :)
• This year dh will turn 40.(And I am not far behind). Yikes!
• This year we will wrap up our first four year cycle following the Classical Model. Thatcher will complete the Grammar Stage and will begin the Dialectic Stage.
• Dh and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage.

And being such a task-oriented, box-checking kinda gal, I cannot help but set some goals for the new year. Here are a few of my goals for 2011:

• Dh and I are planning two date nights out and two date nights in (kids to bed early and a movie on Netflix, a chess game, a Wii match or just time to talk) a month in 2011. We have had a hard time getting away in years past but this year we have committed to making time together alone even more of a priority.
• Early to bed and early to rise. Ol' Ben had something! For me too often it's been late to bed and early to rise (makes a Mommy grouchy, impatient and caffeine-addicted). No more - or at least a lot less ;)
• Memorize the book of Philippians.
• Exercise more.
• Read more (see booklist below)
• Scrapbook more.
• Laugh more.
• Eat less.

And last, here is my booklist for 2011:

Education related books:

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Spiritual Books:

Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller

One Thousand Gifts: Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp

Parenting Books:

The Home at Greylock by Elizabeth Prentiss

Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd & Margy Tripp

Raising Godly Tomatoes by L. Elizabeth Kreuger

Self-Education (Following Recommendations from The Well Educated Mind):

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Home Manager:

Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenrider

Marriage:

War of Words by Paul David Tripp (not a marriage book per se but communication is a weak link for me in our marriage. Dh is excellent at this and I want to be better.)

Happy new year to you all!